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Overview:
The ancient Greeks and Romans, like every civilization, used their environment's natural resources to develop their societies. This lesson will help students differentiate between the two civilizations' practices of land and natural resource use and assess the extent to which the Romans adopted Greek practices. Students will research Greek and Roman land use and illustrate maps with Greek and Roman land use practices.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, world history
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 17: "How to apply geography to interpret the past"
Time:
Three to four hours
Materials Required:
- Computer with Internet access
- Blank Xpeditions maps of Greece, one copy for each student
- Drawing materials
Objectives:
Students will
- describe ways that civilizations make use of and alter the environment;
- contribute ideas about how the ancient Greeks and Romans made use of and altered their environment;
- describe customs that the Romans borrowed from the Greeks;
- research and take notes on ancient Greek and Roman land use;
- discuss the similarities and differences between Greek and Roman natural resource and land use;
- illustrate maps with examples of Greek and Roman land use, and write map keys that describe the land uses and the differences between the two civilizations; and
- write sentences explaining which land use practices they think the Romans borrowed from the Greeks.
Geographic Skills:
Acquiring Geographic Information
Organizing Geographic Information
Analyzing Geographic Information
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
Ask students to describe some of the ways that civilizations make use of and alter the environment. For example, people use natural resources to build their homes, to make tools, and for food. As people extract these resources, they alter the environment. People change the landscape in other ways, such as diverting water for irrigation or digging into the ground to build cities.
Development:
Write this question at the top of the board: "How did these civilizations make use of their land and natural resources?" Write "Greece" on the left and "Rome" on the right. Ask students to contribute ideas, based on what they've already learned about each civilization, as to how each one used its natural resources for construction, irrigation, daily household items, and other uses.
Remind students that the Romans conquered Greece in 146 B.C., after the Greek civilization had been developing for centuries. Based on this fact, ask them to explain which civilization borrowed from the other. Have they learned about any specific things that the Romans borrowed from the Greeks?
Have students create charts with the headings "Greece" and "Rome" and five additional rows. They should label the rows with the following terms: houses, clothing, food, tools, and water.
Have students conduct research to find out how the Greeks and Romans used their natural resources and altered the landscape to build houses, make clothing, get food, make tools, and obtain water. They should make sure to focus on how the people used and changed the environment (e.g., agriculture and aqueducts) rather than factors of daily life unrelated to land use (e.g., clothing styles). Have them fill in their charts with information they find at the following Web sites or other resources:
Greece:
Emory University: (Ancient) Greece—Daily Life
PBS: The Greeks—Crucible of Civilization
University of Pennsylvania: Worlds Intertwined—Etruscans, Greeks, and Romans
Rome:
Emory University: (Ancient) Rome—Daily Life
University of Vermont: Daily Roman Life
Greece and Rome:
Dr. Dig: Questions About Greece and Rome
The History of Plumbing –Roman and English Legacy (also contains some information about Greek plumbing and baths)
Closing:
Ask students to look carefully at their charts and to describe the similarities they notice between the two civilizations. Ask them to describe the things that they think the Romans may have borrowed from the Greeks and the ways the Romans changed the things they borrowed to suit their own needs.
Suggested Student Assessment:
Give each student a blank map of Greece. Ask students to illustrate the map with examples of ways the ancient Greeks made use of their natural environment. Their maps should include at least five illustrations.
Have students write numbers next to each picture on the map and create a key on another piece of paper. In the key, they should describe each illustration and explain what it shows about how the Greeks used their natural environment and resources.
Have students create another key that addresses Roman land use activities. The descriptions in this second key should explain the following: whether the Romans used the land in this way, just as the Greeks did; if not, what did the Romans do differently?
Have students write sentences answering the question "Which land use practices do you think the Romans borrowed from the Greeks?"
Extending the Lesson:
Have students continue their research to find out how another ancient civilization (e.g., Mesopotamia or the Mayan civilization) used their land and natural resources. Ask them to write paragraphs comparing and contrasting that civilization's land use with that of the ancient Greeks.
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